Canopy science has not developed as rapidly as other fields due to the inherent difficulty of accessing this ecosystem. Using a blend of industrial and arboricultural rope access techniques, we confirmed occurrences in the canopy of five reptile and two amphibian species in the Chocóan forests of northwestern Ecuador.
RESUMEN
La investigación en el dosel no se ha desarrollado con la misma velocidad que otras áreas debido a la inaccesibilidad de este ecosistema. Utilizando una combinación de técnicas de acceso con cuerdas de arboricultura e industria, confirmamos la ocurrencia del dosel de cinco especies de reptiles y dos especies de anfibios en los bosques del Chocó del noroccidente del Ecuador.
We describe a new species of the genus Conraua from the Fouta Djallon Highlands in Guinea. The species is recognised as distinct from nominotypical C. alleni, based on morphological evidence and is supported by a recent species delimitation analysis, based on DNA sequence data. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by the unique combination of the following characters: medium body size, robust limbs, only one instead of two palmar tubercles, the first finger webbed to below the first subarticular tubercle, presence of a lateral line system, indistinct tympanum, two subarticular tubercles on fingers III and IV, venter in adults white with dark brown spots or dark brown with grey or whitish spots. The new species differs from all congeners by more than 6% in the DNA sequence of mitochondrial ribosomal 16S. We discuss isolation in Pliocene and Pleistocene forest refugia as a potential driver of speciation in the C. alleni complex. We also emphasise the importance of conserving the remaining forest fragments in the Fouta Djallon Region for the preservation of both its unique biodiversity and its valuable water sources for local people.
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